Transfer rate high at UW-Green Bay

Apr. 15, 2013

Brian Wardle

GREEN BAY — The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men’s basketball team has had an unusual number of players transfer during Brian Wardle’s three seasons as Phoenix head coach.

For one reason or another — lack of playing time, differences with the coaching staff, family considerations — UWGB has had 12 players leave the program in the past three years.

A study conducted by USA TODAY last year found 10.9 percent of Division I scholarship basketball players transferred during the 2010-11 season.

During Wardle’s tenure, the transfer rate at UWGB is 25.6 percent. During that period, 10 scholarship players have left. By comparison, Horizon League rival UW-Milwaukee has lost three players in that span.

“I think it comes down to playing time, and a lot of the young men today want to play,” Wardle told Press-Gazette Media last month. “They work hard their whole lives to get to this point and if the playing time isn’t there or they don’t foresee a great opportunity for them, they want to explore other options. I understand that.”

A little more than two weeks after his comments, UWGB opened an investigation of Wardle after the school received a complaint from the parents of freshman center Ryan Bross, alleging mistreatment.

Including Bross, four players left the program this year.

Junior guard Kam Cerroni walked away during the season. He led the Horizon League in three-point shooting (46.5 percent) as a sophomore but saw that percentage dip to 35.4 percent this past season before he left in February.

Cerroni, who will play at St. Norbert College, said it was his relationship with Wardle that caused him to leave. He’s the only departing player who publicly cited that as the reason.

“It’s not something I wanted; we just had differences, and we couldn’t resolve them,” Cerroni told Press-Gazette Media after abruptly leaving the team in February with a month to go in the season. “It wasn’t anything playing-time related. It had nothing to do with playing time.

“It’s unfortunate. I love Green Bay and the campus and the school. The people have been good to me. I love my teammates. It was just best for me.”

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Fellow junior guard Sultan Muhammad, who hit the winning three-pointer at the buzzer that beat Illinois-Chicago in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament this past season, left earlier this month.

Wardle said the 6-foot-1 native of Grand Rapids, Mich., wanted to be closer to home because of an undisclosed family situation.

Muhammad declined to elaborate on the situation when reached earlier this month.

“It was a personal decision I had to make for myself as well as something going on back home,” Muhammad said. “It’s a situation where I wanted to be closer to home and be able to be back there more often.”

Freshman guard Nick Arenz informed Wardle last month he wouldn’t be returning for a second season.

The 6-foot-8 Arenz played in 16 of 33 games and averaged less than one point and one rebound per game. He played a total of 96 minutes.

Five players, meanwhile, left the program at the end of the 2011-12 season.

Jarvis Williams played his final college season at Minnesota State-Mankato after missing most of his final season at UWGB with a stress fracture in his right foot.

Williams played in 25 games for UWGB in the 2010-11 season, starting 23 and averaging 8.4 points and 5.2 rebounds.

He declined comment when asked Friday how he felt Wardle treated his players or if he saw anything to be concerned about during his time at UWGB.

When sophomore center/forward Clayton Heuer transferred to UW-Stevens Point after last season, he said the decision to leave was simple.

“A lot of (the reason for transferring) was playing time,” Heuer said. “I wanted to play and I wasn’t getting as much playing time as I wanted. When I told (the coaches and players), they understood. They were like, ‘You work so hard, you should be able to get some playing time.’”

Lack of minutes also appeared to be a significant factor for sophomore guard Terry Johnson.

Freshman guard Aaron Armstead left the program after averaging 14.5 minutes. He came to UWGB with a reputation as a scorer but averaged just 3.3 points per game and shot 28 percent from the field.

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Walk-on Jared Dimakos also decided not to return to the school, although no reason was given at the time.

Three players left after Wardle’s first season in 2010-11: guards Seth Evans and Derek Semenas and forward Troy Snyder.

Like many before them, all three appeared to want more playing time.

Evans left two seasons into his UWGB tenure after it looked as if minutes would be hard to earn. Both his scoring average (3.6) and shooting percentage (32.1) dropped from his freshman season.

Evans did not return a message left on his cell phone Friday.

Semenas transferred to Cardinal Stritch of the NAIA after averaging 1.2 points in 13 games.

Snyder, who ranked among the top Class of 2009 prospects in Illinois as a senior, requested and received his release from UWGB.

It remains to be seen what comes out of UWGB’s investigation, but Wardle expressed no worries last month about his program despite the roster turnover.

“When it comes down to our program, the way we run things, the way we treat our guys, our relationships with them, I have zero concerns about that,” Wardle said.